Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, on her official visit to India in January, expressed her vision to see development of shipping infrastructure as an economic corridor linking India with Thailand and Southeast Asia.

In this context, the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu could become a connecting point to link the Thai-invested Dawei deep sea port and special economic zone in Myanmar.

Geographically speaking, it will be perfect to connect Tamil Nadu's capital city of Chennai and Dawei as the two cities are situated exactly on opposite sides of the Bay of Bengal with a distance of 1,940 kilometres separating them. Shipments from Thailand via the future port of Dawei to Chennai would take only a few days, rather than weeks currently from Laem Chabang.

Thai Foreign Ministry director-general of South Asian Affairs Narong Sasitorn led a small delegation last week to explore the possibility of connectivity between Thailand via Myanmar with India's Coromandel Coast.

He found that the southern state of Tamil Nadu has great potential for strategic economic linkage with Thailand but many obstacles needed to be overcome as well.

Senior officials at the Tamil Nadu government's Planning and Development Department said they were not aware of Prime Minister Yingluck's vision, but they already had their own plan under the Tamil Nadu vision 2023 to make it India's most prosperous and progressive state.

Chennai has already taking in trade and investment from foreign countries, they said. Foreign investors, notably from Japan and South Korea, were intensively invested in the auto industry in Chennai, said R Vijaykmar, additional chief secretary at the Planning and Development Department. Chennai has been dubbed as Detroit of India, he said.

Tamil Nadu was also called the Textile Valley of India and the Manchester of South India for its textile production.

It was also the Rice Bowl of South India for its paddy production.

Tamil Nadu will increase its per capita income six times, from US$1,628 (Bt51,000) last year to $10,000 in the next 11 years, according to the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023.

To achieve this tall ambition, the authorities in Tamil Nadu have mapped out 10 strategic initiatives to enhance and create economic activities for growth.

The initiatives include increasing the share of manufacturing, making small and medium enterprise vibrant, making Tamil Nadu a knowledge capital and innovative hub of India, improving agricultural productivity and encouraging public-private participation schemes.

Infrastructure is the key for development. Total investment requirement for infrastructure over the next 11 years, in accordance with the 2023 Vision, is $330 billion.

The Tamil Nadu government would contribute only one-third of the required investment while the rest would come from the private sector from both domestic and foreign investors.

Tamil Nadu, however, has a long way to go to reach the goal. Chennai in particular lacks sufficient infrastructure and facilities for more economic activities. Traffic congestion due to insufficient roads, water shortage and power blackouts are common in this port city.

The state government is building infrastructure, notably a road link for the trade corridor from Chennai to Mumbai and New Delhi as well as from Chennai to the cyber-city of Bangalore, according to R Vijaykumar.

However, building infrastructure in such a crowded city is not an easy task.

Authorities in Chennai had a headache trying to remove fishing communities to pave the way for the Ennore-Manali road improvement project.

This project was to ease the congestion facing container movement in north Chennai. Local media reported that port users expressed their disappointment over Chennai Port Trust's inability to clear the way for the project. Traffic congestion, notably at the port was a serious problem as it increased business cost for transportation and logistics.

Note: This is the first of a three-part series to explore the possibilities of Chennai-Dawei connectivity to link India with Thailand via Myanmar and other Southeast Asian nations.

Empty talks.Mere vision 2023 grand annoncement nothing going to happen.Just for example the elevated expressway from maduravoyal to chennai port has been halted after spending Rs500 crores and nothing seems to be resolved even after three months.This is for the so called infrastructure development by this govt.New assembly building is rotting after spending more than Rs1000 crores and now the beautiful library is raided.Don't expect anything from the present govt.Mere announcements by the authority of AMMA for public consumption and jalra by her followers.

Empty talks.Mere vision 2023 grand annoncement nothing going to happen.Just for example the elevated expressway from maduravoyal to chennai port has been halted after spending Rs500 crores and nothing seems to be resolved even after three months.This is for the so called infrastructure development by this govt.New assembly building is rotting after spending more than Rs1000 crores and now the beautiful library is raided.Don't expect anything from the present govt.Mere announcements by the authority of AMMA for public consumption and jalra by her followers.

I cannot refute the facts,which you have stated Sir, You are absolutely right. But still, I have that small ray of hope hidden in one of the darkest corners of my heart, which actually compels me to believe in her administration. Lets hope for the best.

__________________It is never too late to be what you might have been - George Eliot

The property values of East Coast Road (ECR) have crossed the mark of Rs 11,000 per sq ft at prime locations near beach and are still appreciating making it a top residential locality of Chennai. Visible expansion of IT/ITeS sector acting as the catalyst in the real estate growth. Revival of demand for luxury villas, increase in property prices and launch of new projects, all this has returned and bucking the Chennai’s submarket.

“Chennai is noting a continuous demand for luxury housing from quite some time now, primarily towards the peripheral locations of the city where premium homes are available at affordable values,” says AP Leo, property consultant at Nucleus Properties. The capital values of premium apartments and luxury villas have noted a hike of 10-15 per cent in past six months. The number of enquiries also showed an upward trend, seeing a hike of up to 25 per cent during the same period. The appreciation in property values can be attributed to the fact that it is primarily end-user driven rather than investors, he added.

The stretch from Palavakkam to Mamallapuram is the key hub seeing exponential demand and supply in the residential sector. These locations house projects in the premium category catering to HNIs, NRI’s and have demand for individual bungalows/villas priced at more than Rs 2 crore.

According to Sree Kumar from Sree Group of Properties, “Rental sector is too flourishing and have noted a significant appreciation of more than 30 per cent in recent past.” The rental values of a fully furnished 4-5 BHK villas/independent houses varies from Rs 60,000-90,000 per month depending on its location and proximity to neighbourhood beach.

ECR strategic situation near to the IT corridor is the major USP of the area. Enhanced demand from expats and HNI’s visiting to city for professional reasons are the major contributor in the upward rental and capital sector. On an average, the capital values at ECR vary from Rs 2,000-6,000 per sq ft depending upon location and connectivity. Residential land is also the next most transacted category after luxury villas, sums up Kumar.

Improved connectivity level, transportation and other infrastructural activities have created spurt in the upcoming housing projects in the suburban areas such as ECR. Looking at the prevailing demand and supply ratio, it is expected that the submarket will continue to witness positive trend in values.

If you are an apartment owner in a good location in city areas, then you can feel proud that you are a crorepati today at least in notional values. But if you are the one due to invest in housing for a specific city location, you will have to cough up not less than Rs 1 crore. Soaring land values, lack of clear title properties, fierce competition among developers and demand exceeding supply have all made buying an apartment a virtually impossible task for the common man.

Yet another factor is the archaic development control rules which have throttled the housing development for decades in key locations across the city. Restrictions on FSI have made housing a costly exercise for Chennaiites over the years without rhyme or reason. The worst affected sector is the middle class for whom the question of acquiring their dream home in city areas will be a Herculean task hereafter. The Tamil Nadu Housing Board apartment owners in key city locations are sitting pretty as the redevelopment exercise on their existing units would fetch a windfall besides cash incentives in the years ahead.

Even the resale apartments in key city locations are quoted at rigid prices due to which the transactions are taking much longer time nowadays, say realtors monitoring secondary market price movements in the city.

At the same time not all city properties can fetch fancy prices. There are road restrictions and access issues that have made even prime properties lying idle for several years as buyers do not evince keen interest at such prices. Even property developers are shying away from joint development in such areas due to lesser ratio for development. Some developers are keen to even accept 55:45 (developer) as the sale value compensates them with higher revenue and the lead time is short besides there is a ready market for such units.

For the younger generation this is a timely lesson to start investing in homes much earlier than later. They can pursue their costly higher education without any institutional commitment while pursuing their initial careers. They can mortgage, rent and raise resources from housing finance companies and banks to pursue their academic interest without the need to depend on their parents.

look at the biased heading as the major footprints of warehousing industry is in leading cities of mumbai,new delhi,and bangalore.

i thought logically it could be wrong as chennai is a city with two(3) existing ports,and being the heavy engineering ,factory ,electronic manufacturing hub of india.

anyone can add up the transaction deals which are 13 for chennai and with 1.8 million
sq ft ,bangalore with 12 deals around 700,000/- sq ft the rest mumbai,or new delhi are even less.
the profiles of leasees are dream big daddys mnc in chennai where as in bangalore or othercities are logistic companies.no mention of chennai in newspaper reports ,why?

I was surprised there was no mention of the auto industry in SPR or Oragadam - are those not SEZs?

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look at the biased heading as the major footprints of warehousing industry is in leading cities of mumbai,new delhi,and bangalore.

i thought logically it could be wrong as chennai is a city with two(3) existing ports,and being the heavy engineering ,factory ,electronic manufacturing hub of india.

anyone can add up the transaction deals which are 13 for chennai and with 18 million
sq ft ,bangalore with 12 deals around 700,000/- sq ft the rest mumbai,or new delhi are even less.
the profiles of leasees are dream big daddys mnc in chennai where as in bangalore or othercities are logistic companies.no mention of chennai in newspaper reports ,why?

Nowadays only NCR,mumbai and bangaluru are echoed in every reports and discussions.CBRE is no exception.Warehousing industry in bangaluru is much smaller than chennai.If CBRE quotes otherwise its mere error or not knowing facts which is then shameful.